


Nostalgia

by TheHomestuckWhovian



Series: Shatt Week 2017 (AKA I'm sorry I'm trash) [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Shatt Week 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-08-16
Packaged: 2018-12-15 16:38:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11809965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheHomestuckWhovian/pseuds/TheHomestuckWhovian
Summary: Shiro pines a lot and Matt is great.





	Nostalgia

**Author's Note:**

> **Day 3:** _“I’ve never been so happy!”/(Late Night) Confessions/Road Trip_
> 
> I'm doing all three prompts and using my Myosotis AU for this...oh boy...
> 
> You might require context, so I suggest reading Myosotis before reading this (though you can skip Mnemosyne if you want).

Matt was grinning brightly as Shiro entered the room, waving and calling, "Did you get that motherfucker?"

Shiro smiled and nodded, saying, "Yeah, we got a warrant and arrested him. The evidence you provided should insure he's put away for a long time."

The shorter boy pumped his fist. "Fuck yeah!"

Shiro shook his head at Matt. The two had become good friends since they started working together, and Matt had proven to be very enthusiastic about his job, something Shiro could relate to (he had wanted to be a homicide detective for a long time after all). And considering how hard this case had been, Matt was justified in being ecstatic over the fucker getting arrested. It had hit a bit too close to home for him, and Shiro could understand why it had been so important for him to find that evidence that proved who had committed the crime.

"You want to go celebrate?" Matt offered. "Maybe get some drinks?"

Shiro shook his head. "No thanks, I don't drink."

Matt nodded in understanding. "Okay. How about we just hang out then? Get some food at McDonalds or whatever?"

He hesitated at first. It had been an exhausting day, in an exhausting week of tracking the motherfucker he had arrested down, and in all honesty, Shiro just wanted to go home and nap for a year. But Matt looked so hopeful and happy that he simply smiled and answered, "Sure."

Which was how the two found themselves sitting at a slightly sticky table at McDonalds, chowing down on hamburgers and laughing as they shared stories.

"I've never been so happy to hear about a guy getting arrested," Matt admitted, purely honest. His eyes burned with righteous fury as he brought up the topic. "In my opinion, after what he did, he deserves to rot in jail."

"I don't disagree," Shiro noted. "We never would have caught him without your help, Matt."

"Aw, thanks Shiro." He smiled, and Shiro was reminded of how very not straight he was. _Reel it in, Takashi. Reel it in. You work together, he's probably not interested, **stop it.**_

"To justice?" Shiro asked, lifting his paper cup with a small smile on his face.

Matt bumped his smoothie to Shiro's cup, repeating, "To the justice that motherfucker deserves."

* * *

Shiro glanced at the rearview mirror, smiling at Pidge, Keith and...no, it was just Pidge and Keith...sleeping in the back, Keith's head leaning against the middle seat's head rest and snoring like a vuvuzela. Pidge herself was curled up in her seat and the middle seat, her 3DS cradled in her arms. 

Matt laughed, remarking, "I'm not sure how she can sleep with him snoring like that." He looked at Shiro with a bright smile. "Glad we managed to convince you to come. It'll a be blast."

_Takashi, don't do something gay._

Shiro wished simply thinking that kept him from imagining certain things that would make Keith mock him for eternity in retaliation for all of the teasing he had put his little brother through. He was currently mentally reciting the entire script of Finding Nemo, a movie Keith had been obsessed with as a child, in order to purposely avoid focusing on those thoughts, along with repeated mental reminders that Matt was probably not interested and would not be interested and _get your shit together Takashi._

God he was so fucked.

They were heading to a hotel to stay in while they went to a convention about eight hours away from the city they lived in. Pidge and Keith had been hyped, and Matt hadn't been difficult to drag into the plans. After having four...no, only three, pairs of puppy dog eyes sent his way, Shiro had only managed to resist for about five seconds before he agreed to go with.

Matt looked in the back, noting, "Those three will have to be woken up when we get there. I'm leaving Keith to you, since I'm pretty sure he has at least two knives on him right now."

"...That is probably true."

The two snickered a little bit before Matt noted, "I can relate though. I am probably going to nap for a year when we get to the hotel."

"Not yet you aren't," Shiro answered, rolling his eyes. "If I have to handle my sibling, you get to wrangle Pidge."

Matt groaned dramatically, whining, "Shiro~"

"I'm not parenting all three of them," Shiro answered, refusing to look at Matt to face the big brown eyes Matt was probably attempting to use, because he was so fucking gone and would immediately crumble if he did. _Goddammit, Takashi, stop being gay for like five minutes._

Matt finally huffed and mumbled, "Fine," in defeat, and there was silence for a moment. Shiro focused on the road, doing his best not think about Matt.

He was doing a perfectly ~~awful~~ fine job of that when Matt spoke up again.

"So, how long have you and Allura known each other?" he asked, sounding strangely quiet. Shiro tilted his head at that question, wondering where it came from. Matt had met Allura practically a week ago after all.

"Since high school," Shiro explained, shrugging. "She used to come to the weight room when the football team was lifting. I offered to spot her when she started coming in and she thought I was being sexist at first, or trying to come on to her." He laughed sheepishly at the memory. "Honestly I was just following proper weight room protocol. Three of us had to spot her because she is so strong. Honestly she is my best friend, but she terrifies me to this day. I think her expertise with magic makes her even more terrifying."

"Oh. Cool."

Matt sounded...odd.

"Everything alright there?" he asked, concerned.

"...Yeah, everything is cool."

Shiro frowned, not buying it but not wanting to push it if Matt was uncomfortable.

Part of him wondered if Matt thought he and Allura were dating, and that was why he was uncomfortable. _Don't be a dumbass, Takashi. Why would he be uncomfortable. Stop trying to convince yourself he is interested._ Still...

"When I was outed my junior year, it was Allura who stuck up for me," Shiro added, shrugging. Matt's head snapped to look in his direction so fast he swore he could hear Matt's neck crack.

"Outed? You mean...?"

Shiro shrugged. "I had a crush on this guy my junior year. I tried my best to keep it a secret, but someone figured it out and..." He sighed. "...Highschoolers fucking suck. I remember finding a slur drawn on my locker in Sharpie and wishing I hadn't gone to school that day. And, in the weight room, none of my teammates would follow me. Football culture is pretty homophobic, so it didn't surprise me. I'm grateful to Allura for her support. I don't know what would have happened or how things would have turned out if I hadn't had her on my side."

Matt winced in sympathy. "I'm...I'm sorry. Getting outed must fucking suck."

"Yeah, it really does." Shiro looked at Matt, saying, "Sorry I didn't come out to you more formally or anything like that. I'm bi."

"It's no big deal," Matt assured, smiling gently. "I'm glad you were willing to trust me with that information. It's not easy to admit that to other people. It's...really fucking terrifying."

_Don't be dumb he's probably talking about Pidge don't be dumb Takashi focus on driving and pretending that hearing that didn't make your heart soar for like a millisecond goddammit._

"At least you got to come out to me on your own terms."

Shiro smiled, noting, "Thanks for being understanding Matt."

"No problem, Shiro."

Shiro bit his lip for a moment, before taking a deep breath and saying, "You know, you can call me Takashi, if you want?"

Matt looked up, then smiled warmly. "Alright. Takashi."

God Shiro was so fucking gone.

* * *

"No."

"Come on, Matt, you managed it before!"

Matt crossed his arms stubbornly. "No. I nearly fell out and died last time you made me climb up this fucking tree. I'm not doing it again."

Shiro rolled his eyes at Matt's overly dramatic assertion, calling down from his branch, "You can't die from falling out of this tree, Matt!"

Still, Matt remained stubborn. "If I landed on my head I could have. What if I had snapped my neck? Or impaled myself on a branch? You'd be down a forensics expert if I died." He sat at the base of the tree, glaring at Shiro up next to the carvings. "I'm not climbing up there and that is final. Either you come down here or we both are just going to have to stay where we are."

"Fine," Shiro groaned, shaking his head. He leaned back against the trunk looking up at the dark sky through the layer of leaves so Matt wouldn't see his fond smile.

There was a comfortable silence between the two before Matt asked, "So, why the tree again? Didn't we have the big ceremony where I carved my name in it despite you not explaining why it was so important? Why do I need to come here again?"

Oh right. This was about Shiro explaining how fucking head over heels he was to Matt so he wouldn't be Jonah-ed by the feelings, as Allura had explained it.

...Yeah, no. He couldn't fucking do this. Shiro knew when to fold him and the idea of confessing to Matt was so fucking ludicrous to Shiro's crush-crippled mind that he could sooner imagine himself willingly allowing Allura to test spells on him every day for a week. So, no, he would rather pine from afar than risk the train wreck that would be him trying to admit to Matt Holt that he was 99.999999% sure in he was in love with him.

God, he was fucking pathetic.

"Shiro?" Matt called from the base of the tree. "Are you okay?"

"I guess," Shiro answered distantly, not really sure how to honestly answer that question.

There was silence, before he heard the scuff of shoes against the bark of the tree and the rustling of leaves, and he turned just as a pale-faced Matt sat his butt down on the branch beside him.

"Fuck, this was a terrible idea," Matt admitted, laughing nervously. He looked up at Shiro and then added, "Are you okay? Because, honestly, you look like you are going through something, and I don't know if you want to talk about it, but I'm right here if you need me. I mean...you don't have to say anything, but I'll sit with you until you feel better, and I can even just talk about dumb shit as a distraction if you want. Just...I want to help, Takashi."

Shiro was so fucking gone it absolutely hurt, and he didn't do much to hide the absolute adoration he felt for Matt when he looked at him.

"Just..." Shiro sighed. "I...have been an idiot about something. And I don't really know what to do about it, to be honest? And...Allura recommended I just...metaphorically pull off the band-aid, you know? But...I'm fucking terrified. The idea of actually going through with it scares the shit out of me. Because I'm pretty sure I'm going to fuck it up, Matt, and then everything will fall apart and it will fucking kill me."

There was silence, before Matt noted, "So you are basically saying you're in love with someone and you are terrified of confessing?"

Shiro blinked, and Matt gave a tense smile. "Not my first rodeo, Takashi. I've been down that route before. And yeah, it is fucking terrifying. Even with past experience, it is hard to convince myself to do anything about it even when I should. But if things go wrong, you've got Allura, and Keith, and hell, you've got me. And I'm sure the person you are talking about will still want to be your friend, even if they don't feel the same way."

"Oh," Shiro answered, surprised at Matt's suggestion. "I-thank you, Matt."

"No problem." His voice sounded strangled, and Shiro blinked and tilted his head in confusion as Matt clung to the branch, his knuckles turning white.

"Matt?"

Matt admitted, "I'm sorry, it's fucking dumb." He forced a smile onto his face, and Shiro could see the tears in his eyes. He laughed bitterly, noting, "It's after midnight, and here I am, probably gonna fall out of this fucking tree. And I'm trying to give you advice while also being a dumb fucking hypocrite. It's just...I can't believe that I am so dumb, believing I ever had a fucking chance, you know?" 

Shiro was silent, unable to really process what was happening.

"I...Goddammit I love you so much and I am so fucking stupid," Matt continued, and Shiro was shocked stiff. "There. It's out. And we can just...go back to the way things were, because I think not even being friends any more would hurt so fucking much." He let out what sounded like a choked sob, noting, "Dammit, I was supposed to be helping you, not breaking down in a fucking tree. I'm so sor-"

Shiro grabbed Matt's face with both hands and kissed him.

It was a good kiss, if very brief because the action had sent both off balance. They had to pull apart almost immediately to avoid falling to the ground, Matt going back to clinging the branch like a lifeline.

Matt looked at Shiro with a completely shocked look, and Shiro just blurted out the first words that came to mind.

"I'm so fucking sorry I nearly made you fall out of the tree."

There was silence before Matt began laughing, his body shaking as he did. Shiro blinked, before snorting. The two were both soon cackling with delight and adrenaline, tears flowing down their faces.

Matt finally managed to force out, "You know, I think I would have forgiven you if I had." There was a pause, before he added, "But in all seriousness, can we have our next kiss with our feet on the ground, because I'd rather not die tonight?"

"I think I'd like that," Shiro answered, smiling warmly.

* * *

Shiro sat in the hard plastic seat, barely able to look up at the bed beside him before turning his gaze back down to the floor.

Seeing Matt like this...it was painful. Just as painful as Pidge's sobs when she entered their room, as painful as waking up to Keith angrily telling him that he wasn't allowed to leave him behind like that. As painful as Allura flipping through books, desperately looking for some spell of any kind that could help.

As painful as Matt's smile was as he apologized to Shiro, right before swerving off the road.

Shiro lifted his left hand to his face, doing his best to hold it together.

He didn't want to see Matt like this. He wanted to remember Matt as he was before he drove them off the road, smiling and happy and so excited to finally figure out how to prove Haggar was the killer, not lying there still and silent. He wanted to think about those happy memories with him, instead of facing the reality that Matt was lying there and no one was sure when he would wake up, if he ever did.

But all they were were fucking memories, and they couldn't change what happened.

He wished he could have done something. Anything.

But now, all he could do was sit there, down one limb and barely able to cope. Sit there, try and cope, and hope with all that was in him that maybe Matt would wake up, that maybe he hadn't lost the man he loved.

Shiro had never been much of an optimist.

**Author's Note:**

> This wasn't gonna be angsty but the Supernova Discord enabled me. I blame Chrono for this.
> 
> Did you guys enjoy those jokes about sleeping for a year, because I hated myself for even including them.
> 
> I dedicate this to the Supernova Discord, who got to witness this travesty come together from when I barely knew what I was doing to the angsty conclusion. I also dedicate this to Kit, in hopes that she will not hate me forever and also for the title suggestion. I appreciate it!


End file.
